MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont men's hockey team opens the regular season this weekend with a home-and-home series against former ECAC rival Clarkson. The Catamounts drop the puck on the new campaign tonight at 7 p.m. at Cheel Arena in Potsdam, New York, then return to Gutterson Fieldhouse on Saturday (Oct. 8) for the home opener at 7:05 p.m.
Free live video of both contests is available at the links below, and radio coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. each night on WVMT 620-AM with
Alastair Ingram on the call. Live audio is also available at the links below via Sports Juice. For tickets to Saturday's home opener, log on to
UVMathletics.com/Tickets or call 802-656-4410.
RELATED LINKS
Friday: Video | Audio | Live Stats
Saturday: Video | Audio | Live Stats | Tickets
SEASON TICKET CONTEST
Leading up to Saturday night's home opener, fans have the chance to win 2016-17 season tickets by sharing a photo on social media showing how you are "UVM's Biggest Fan". The winner will be announced at the game, however you do not need to be in attendance to win. Be sure to use the hashtag
#UVMsBiggestFan for your chance to win. Submissions will be accepted until 12 p.m. on Saturday.
PARKING
For the convenience of our fans attending games this season at Gutterson Fieldhouse, a shuttle will run constantly from the Jeffords parking lot (also known as the water tower lot) to Gutterson Fieldhouse. By taking the shuttle, fans can get back to their vehicle and on the road without sitting in as much traffic.
Fans with a disabled parking placard or a Victory Club VIP parking pass should have these out and ready when approaching the Gutterson parking lot for both your convenience as well as that of the UVM Police, security and Transportation and Parking staff members. You may be directed to a different entrance once all other parking areas at Gutterson are full but you will be able to access your respective parking area.
Please be sure to note parking signs to know when the Gutterson parking garage is full and all remaining traffic is being directed to the Jeffords lot.
EXHIBITION RECAP | CatamounTV Highlights
Despite a 44-16 shot advantage, Vermont fell to Concordia 3-2 on Raphael Lafontaine's late winner in the third period last Saturday in exhibition action at Gutterson.
Mario Puskarich and
Ross Colton accounted for the Catamount goals, while
Mike Santaguida,
Pat Feeley, and
Stefanos Lekkas all saw time in net. Colton led all players with seven shots on goal in his collegiate debut. Vermont was 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and 1-for-9 on the power play.
SEASON IN REVIEW
Vermont closed last season with a 15-22-3 record and a 6-13-3 mark in Hockey East play. UVM earned the No. 9 seed in the league tournament and swept UConn on the road in the first round before falling in a three-game quarterfinal series to regular season co-champion Boston College. The Catamounts were one goal away from their second straight trip to TD Garden for the Hockey East Championship, losing in overtime to the Eagles in Game 3. UVM faced one of the toughest schedules in the country last season, playing a total of 21 ranked opponents and hosting six different top-5 schools.
SCOUTING CLARKSON
The Golden Knights dropped their exhibition contest 4-3 to Quebec Trois-Rivieres last weekend at Cheel Arena. Clarkson won 20 games last season and posted an ECAC record of 10-9-3, eventually falling to rival St. Lawrence in the league quarterfinals. The Knights return their top three scorers from last season, including leading scorer Sam Vigneault who recorded 26 points on 12 goals and 14 assists. Cornell graduate Casey Jones enters his sixth season as the head coach in Potsdam.
SERIES HISTORY
Tonight marks the 83rd all-time meeting between the two men's hockey programs. Vermont swept Clarkson in a home-and-home series early in the 2014-15 season with a 2-1 win at home, followed by a 3-0 shutout in Potsdam with a 28-save effort from Santaguida.
WHO'S NEXT
UVM is idle next weekend before flying to play Nebraska Omaha from the NCHC in a two-game non-league series on Friday, Oct. 21 and Saturday, Oct. 22. Both games are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. (ET), and Friday's series opener will be televised on ASN.
Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 men's hockey season
